Nun Gang-raped in India

A nun in her 70’s was gang-raped in front of school pupils while trying to stop a robbery in a Christian missionary school in eastern India. The nun was bleeding from her anal when she was admitted to hospital in serious condition after the brutal sex attack, which was committed by gang of eight armed robbers at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School in West Bengal state.

“It is a very, very shameful act, first of all, to rape any woman, any female,” Father Dominic Emmanuel of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese said in televised comments. “But this one becomes even worse because, first of all, she is an old lady and then on top of it, she is a nun. She is a religious [and] has consecrated her life to God and all her life she has remained a virgin.”

A series of rape cases involving girls, foreign tourists and a physiology student who died following a brutal gang rape in 2012 has hurt India’s international reputation. Crowds have taken to Indian streets to protest against rape.

The attack is the latest incident to focus attention on the sudden rise of sexual violence and brutal rape in India. Police are still searching for the rapist bandits who escaped with cash, mobile phones, laptop computers and some cameras after vandalizing the entire school. The bandits also threatened to upload the video footage of the sexual assault of the elderly nun on the internet if they are identified to the police by her.

Official data in India show that rape cases have jumped almost 875% over the past 40 years — from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011. But campaigners say sexual assaults are underreported because of stigma and cultural factors.

Last week Delhi police went to a lower court to prevent the broadcast of rape documentary filmed by BBC world called “India’s Daughter” by an local TV station on International Women’s Day.

The film went viral on the internet, attracting a huge audience both worldwide and in India which ignited a  widespread social discussion.